Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
ARES
T he sky darkened, a sudden thunderstorm looming overhead, making the air feel gritty.
Even the gods had foretold this day.
The fated moment when two titans would collide, causing bloodshed and despair. While Ouranos ruled as the tyrannical king, shadows crept over Aeolopolis City, and we lingered in their dark embrace. His reign wouldn’t last.
I had every intention of sending him to the pits of hell, where my brother would join him in eternal torment.
Heavy rainfall pattered on the roof of the Mustang, as Hades steered towards the gates of the Olympus compound. We were parked a good distance from the lot, but close enough to see everything unfold. We could see some of Ouranos’s henchmen lining the area around the buildings. They were destroying everything in their paths, their faces hard and merciless.
Screams began echoing through the air, chilling me to the bone.
Condensation rolled down the windows in the car, and I watched Aphrodite as she wiped some away to get a better look. My knuckles turned white with tension, the urge to squeeze the life out of these wretched bastards burning through me.
“What are we going to do? It’s just the two of us,” Hades confessed.
“Three,” Aphrodite corrected.
The sound of shattering glass pierced the air, grabbing our attention. Molotov cocktails had been thrown through windows, and we watched as a furious blaze ignited from the Odyssey.
People fled from the building as thick, choking smoke filled the air.
Ouranos loomed above Olympus, his towering presence casting a dark, imposing shadow over the compound as he watched the impending carnage below with cold indifference. The sky above seemed to darken in his wake, a reflection of the power he wielded.
From his vantage point at the foot of the grand doors to the main building, he stood motionless, a figure of menace. His gaze swept over the chaos beneath him, the destruction playing out like a twisted symphony of violence, but there was no flicker of emotion in his eyes.
Only the deep, quiet certainty that more ruin was inevitable.
“Drive!” I commanded, my voice ringing out in the confined space. Hades floored it towards the back of the buildings. We reached the dark alleyway, finding it completely deserted.
I hurried out of the vehicle and rushed to the locked metal gates at the back of the compound, quickly entering the four-digit code. Nothing happened. As the rain began to pour, I turned and ran back to the car.
“Looks like they cut the power.” I said, slipping inside the vehicle and slamming the door shut behind me.
Hades let loose a sigh. “My poor Mustang.” He rubbed the dashboard, then revved his engine.
“What are you doing?” Aphrodite exclaimed, panic rising in her voice .
Suddenly, Hades slammed his foot on the gas, plastering me to the back of my seat.
“You’re paying for the damages!” he yelled in my direction. The car roared forward, and before I could fully grasp what was happening, we were airborne, hurtling toward the gates at full speed. “Hold on!” he screamed as the vehicle soared.
I gripped the seat tight, bracing myself as the Mustang slammed into the metal gates with a bone-jarring impact. Sparks flew like fireflies, dancing in the air as the metal groaned and twisted under the force. The gates were ripped from their hinges, flung into the distance like discarded toys. The car screeched to a sudden stop, jerking me forward, but before I could slam into the dashboard, Hades’s hand shot out, pressing firmly against my chest, pulling me back into my seat just in time.
Aphrodite, thrown sideways in the backseat, was already pushing herself up, a mix of determination and fear in her eyes. Hades wore his familiar devilish grin as he turned off the vehicle. “Let the show begin,” he said with a cold edge to his voice
We all climbed out of the car, the smell of burnt rubber hanging in the air. Hades popped open the trunk and pulled out a stash of guns, handing them out like candy at a party. He grabbed his dagger, slipping it into the clip on his boot with practiced ease.
Aphrodite approached me, flashing the gun she had tucked into the back of her pants. My chest tightened, feeling the weight of her pain as if it were my own. I wished, more than anything, that this wasn’t her world, that I could shield her from the darkness closing in around us. But here we were, caught in the chaos. All I could do now was stand by her, protect her in the only way I knew how—by never letting go.
“Do you know how to use it?” I asked, my voice low, though the question felt heavy with the weight of the moment.
“Titan taught me how,” she replied, her gaze steady and resolute. “This is for him.”
“This is for Olympus,” Hades added, his voice cold and unwavering. He handed me my gun, the familiar weight of it grounding me in the chaos.
We moved forward, a silent understanding passing between us. The air grew colder as we approached the OS clubhouse. Each step felt like a descent into something darker, like we were walking toward the very gates of the underworld itself.
The shadows stretched long, and with every heartbeat, I could feel the gravity of what was coming. There would be no turning back now.
I glanced at Aphrodite, her face set in grim determination.
For Titan. For Olympus. For us.
The distant sound of footsteps echoed through the darkened back of the main building; Henchmen that moved cautiously, their eyes scanning the shadows for any hint of intrusion.
Hades slithered beneath us through the shadows, his movements like a wisp of smoke. Silence was his weapon, his presence melding seamlessly with the backdrop of abandoned machinery and rusted pipes. I watched from above, my heart pounding. We needed to move.
Aphrodite and I slowly crossed the catwalk, trying to stay as silent as possible. I watched as Hades executed stealth takedowns on two men while we made our way to the opposite side.
We descended the stairs, my boots landing gently on the cold metal grating. I focused on maintaining control, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly.
I tightened my grip on the gun, the weight was reassuring in my hands. I had trained for this, honing my skills to perfection over countless hours. I reached the bottom of the stairs, blending in with the darkness, my body one with the night. The tension in the air was suffocating .
My senses grew heightened, every nerve on edge. There were more henchmen within reach, their figures illuminated by a dim, flickering light. Without hesitation, I struck. The first henchman fell, as my bullet found its mark. The others turned in confusion, their eyes wide with disbelief.
Chaos erupted, bullets flew, and echoes of gunfire reverberated through the factory.
Hades emerged from the shadows, his knives glinting in the dim light.
He was a force to be reckoned with, his movements a dance of death. Together, we fought as one, a symphony of violence. The air was filled with the metallic scent of blood, mingling with the stale odor of the abandoned factory. The henchmen fell one by one, crumbling beneath our onslaught of vicious attacks. They didn’t stand a chance.
We stood among the fallen, our breaths ragged and bodies smeared with sweat and blood, when our eyes fell upon a shadowy figure inching toward us through the darkness. As the figure emerged, it was Athena, her eyes gleaming with cold triumph.
We shared a look, both of us knowing that our fates were waiting around the next corner, and with them, the secrets we were about to uncover.
As we pushed through the chaos, the factory echoed with the ghosts of its past. The place seemed to hum of old battles, the walls scarred from every fight that had raged here. The air was heavy with the remnants of past violence, and each step we took stirred up the ghosts of conflicts long gone, making the factory feel like a silent witness to all that had happened within its battered walls.
Aphrodite’s finger cut through the dim light, pointing toward the front of the building. There, Artie was bound tightly against a pole, her figure barely visible in the shadows. The sight of her, restrained and vulnerable, fueled a surge of urgency. Hades, his expression set with grim determination, was already gearing up to take out the lone henchman standing guard .
Just as he was about to make his move, I grabbed his shoulder, halting him in his tracks. My grip was firm, pulling him back with a mix of force and urgency. “Look!” I exclaimed, pointing to the far side of the room where a couple more men had just entered.
Artie’s cries of pain reached our ears.
“I’ll take care of them,” Hades said, his voice filled with determination.
“Wait,” I whispered as we kneeled hiding in the shadows. I looked over at Aphrodite who shook with fear, “You need to get out of here.”
“I’m not leaving,” she said with steely determination. “I need to be the one to end my father’s life, and I need to watch Hephaestus fall with my own eyes.” she argued fiercely, but I cut her off, pressing my hand against her mouth with a firm grip.
“Do this for me—please,” I pleaded, desperation edging my voice.
Her eyes flashed with defiance as she struggled against my hand. “No, Ares,” she said, her voice muffled but resolute. “I will go with you into the pits of hell if I have to. I’m with you. Now, let’s go!” Aphrodite’s voice quivered with a mix of fury and fear, her hands pushing against mine as if to assert her determination.
“Enough of this fucking sappy shit,” Athena announced as she stood up cocked her gun. “Let’s kill these assholes.”
As the tension in the air reached its peak, I took one more look at Aphrodite before glancing at Hades and Athena who awaited my signal.
Beads of sweat dripped down my brow as I took a deep breath, bracing myself to unleash the chaos of war. The targets were in my sights, and I knew this was the start of something massive.
The tension in the air was thick, and every breath felt heavy with the weight of the coming conflict. This wasn’t just a battle; it was the beginning of an all-consuming storm, one that would reshape everything in its path.
I cocked my gun and pointed it at the guard next to Artie .
Taking a deep breath, I started to countdown.
“Three.”
“Two.”
“One.”
Our reign of bullets echoed throughout the factory as the guard fell. Hades and Aphrodite hurried to Artie’s side. Two more men approached them, but Athena swiftly shot them in their heads, not missing her target. Meanwhile, Aphrodite untied Artie and helped her stand while Hades kept watch.
“Go!” I screamed as they rushed back toward the path we came from.
Hades waved at me to signal the coast was clear. I continued to cross over the main area of the clubhouse, trying not to get shot. There were other members of our club being beaten by Ouranos and his men in the distance.
Despite being outnumbered, I was determined to fight. I hurried forward, exposing myself as the henchmen were closing in from above. As one of them was coming down the stairs, the air erupted with gunfire.
“Ares is here!” The man shouted. I shot him in the chest before another word could leave his mouth. The impact pushed him back, and he fell off the stairs and landed with a loud thud against the hard cement floor.
Hades yelled, “Good shot!” while I rushed downstairs. “Let’s get them on the inside,” Hades instructed, but just as I was going to speak, Aphrodite ran back inside.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I snapped at her. “Go with Artie!”
“No, Ares! This is my battle too!” Aphrodite pressed her finger to my heart, “Your brother hurt me in ways you can’t comprehend, and I will be part of killing him and my father. I want to take the final shot.”
My nostrils flared at her request, and I rubbed my eyes, my frustration evident.
“Ares, there’s no time for logistics. We need all the hands we have. Now let’s fucking go.” Hades said. He didn’t wait for a response as he disappeared into the darkness.
“Stay next to me, you hear?” I demanded.
She nodded, and we headed down the dark hallway.
The exit sign illuminated us in the blackness. I signaled for Aphrodite to stop when I heard voices coming from the kitchen door. They were muffled, but I could make out Ouranos speaking. Taking a quick glance inside, I saw two men guarding a door—the door that led to the Odyssey. I leaned my head against the wall and turned to face Aphrodite.
“Hold my gun.” She took it, and I reached for the knife in my pocket. “Wait here.”
I slipped around the corner and pressed my back against the wall, moving closer to my target. A man opened the door, lighting up the hallway, giving me the perfect opportunity to strike. I covered his mouth with my hand and slid my knife across his throat. His body went limp, and I gently lowered him to the ground.
Aphrodite peeked around the corner, and I signaled for her to come over. But then a sharp, unsettling scent hit me, stopping me in my tracks.
Gas.
That was when I heard the cries. “Fire!”
“What are we going to do? We need to get to Ouranos!” Aphrodite yelled.
I wiped my hands on the dead man’s jacket. Quickly, Aphrodite slipped past me into the doorway and crawled behind the bar. I tried to catch up to her, to stop her. But it was too late. A henchman grabbed her, and she screeched. I didn’t hesitate—I lunged forward ready to take him down before he could hurt her.
“Take your hands off my woman!” My booming voice was threatening. I didn’t allow the man the chance to react, as I charged toward him. He wouldn’t attack my girl. No fucking way. I squeezed his neck with both hands. My fingers felt his pulse as I tightened my grip. Out of nowhere, something slammed into my head. I fell backward, and the man jumped on top of me. He punched me in my face, and Aphrodite screamed.
A bullet saved me.
The gunshot echoed in the darkness as I watched the man’s soul depart his body, and he fell forward onto me. His blood and mine mingled together as I pushed him off.
“Ares! Are you okay?” Aphrodite cried out as she took my face in her hands. I nodded once, before shifting my gaze to look in the distance.
Hades one the one who had pulled the trigger.
Just as I pulled her into a tight embrace, I saw Apollo bound and lying next to the very person I was itching to strangle—Hephaestus.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t our hero.” Ouranos slunk out from behind the shadows. He looked at Aphrodite, then me. “Hephaestus, you didn’t do your job. She’s still alive.” Ouranos glanced back at my brother.
“I am going to kill you, Ouranos.” Aphrodite uttered her words with intensity. Her eyes widened and her nostrils flared as she stiffened. “Why did you do this?”
He walked toward us, his voice booming through the clubhouse as he explained, “My wife deceived me!” he roared, his presence like a dark storm. “She thought she could hide the fact that Titan was not my son. I always had my suspicions, and I don’t ignore suspicions. You see, there were whispers—little signs that didn’t add up. So, I took matters into my own hands and conducted a DNA test in secret. The results confirmed it. Gaia knew all along that I was not the father, and she hid it from me. She wanted all my money and power to be given to Titan. But nobody steals from me, her deception had to be punished.” he hissed, his eyes burning with a cold, unyielding rage.
He continued, “I had sensed something was amiss with the Olympus Syndicate after Hephaestus paid me a visit. I had invited him over to gain intel about Titan’s business dealings, but it didn’t take long for our conversation to turn to darker matters. We discovered that we could help each other. I wanted my family dead, and he wanted his dead in return.”
Ouranos pulled a matchbox from his pocket, flames already flickering in his eyes.
“Hephaestus didn’t hesitate to jump at the job, and I agreed to offer my help.”
He lit the match.
“And now I’ll burn this place to the ground.”
Without a pause, he threw the match against the wooden bar. A flame ignited along the sides, following a trail of liquid.
“You’re fucking dead!” I snapped as I grabbed at him, but one of his henchmen held me back. I watched as flames overtook the clubhouse walls. The fire surged with no restraint.
Ouranos’ wicked grin distorted his already terrifying appearance as he turned and headed for the exit, flanked by two of his men.
Just as I was about to tear the man restraining me limb from limb, I saw Hades storming down the stairs, unleashing a storm of bullets that ripped through the room.
The crack of his pistol echoed through the room as he gunned down the man holding me. I reached for my gun. The flames released thick black smoke into the air. I turned and rushed after Ouranos, but a wall of men blocked me, stopping me dead in my tracks. I tried to break through their defense line, but they held strong as Ouranos was getting away.
Hades moved with the precision of a vengeful god, picking off henchmen one by one. His gun roared with the fury of the underworld, each shot a relentless judgment. The henchmen, stunned and scrambling, fell before his wrath. As he advanced with the calm of one who commands shadows, his gaze was as unyielding as the gates of Hell.
“I need to get Ouranos!” I snapped, turning to face my family. The air was heavy around us. The flickering amber light of the fire illuminated the space.
Rushing back toward our group, bullets whizzed through the air as Hades and Ouranos’ men exchanged fire. Apollo, injured and limping, made his way over with Athena by his side, supporting him as they struggled toward us.
Aphrodite’s screams echoed behind me, pleading for me to wait, but I didn’t listen. My bloodlust was insatiable—I needed to kill. Ouranos was nearly at the door when Hades charged forward like the reaper himself, his presence a dark omen. His firearm spat death, mowing down the advancing men with cold precision.
I noticed Hephaestus slumped against a wall, his face pale and contorted with pain—he must have been shot.
“Where is Artie?” Apollo yelled over the chaos, his voice raw with desperation. He was covered in bruises and blood, barely able to stand, but Aphrodite and Athena supported him, each taking an arm to lift him up.
“She’s outside! Go! Now!” I ordered, my voice leaving no room for argument.
Athena made a move toward Hephaestus, but I grabbed her, pulling her back. “No!” I growled, my teeth clenched as I held her firmly. She narrowed her eyes at me, fury flashing in her gaze, but I tightened my grip on her forearm.
“Let go of me, Ares!” she demanded, her voice trembling with frustration and anger.
I looked into her eyes, pleading. “He did this. He wanted to kill our father. He has to face the consequences.”
“Not like this.” She pulled away from me and rushed to Hephaestus’ side.
Hades was charging toward us when a Molotov cocktail shattered through the window, erupting in a wall of flames. The fire quickly consumed the room, black smoke swirling thick and suffocating. I gasped for air, the smoke clawing at my lungs, as our world turned to a raging inferno before my eyes.
“We need to get out of here!” Hades yelled, yanking me toward the exit. I glanced over and saw Aphrodite choking on the thick smoke .
“I’m not leaving until I know he’s dead,” I insisted.
Hades glanced at me, then back at Apollo, who was struggling to stay on his feet. Without hesitation, Hades moved to support Apollo, guiding him toward the exit. Apollo needed medical attention, and Hades knew they had to get him out of the burning building before it was too late.
Before I could stop her, Aphrodite bolted through the fire, deeper into the building toward Ouranos. The scent of sweat and gunpowder filled the air. My legs burned from exhaustion with every step, but I forced myself forward, chasing after my love as she ran straight into the flames of hell. Finally catching up to her, I reached the clubhouse porch and saw her standing there, weapon steady in her hands, aimed straight at her father.
He was alone.
His men were trapped in the burning building, their screams echoing through the night, but Ouranos stood by. He was convinced he could still manipulate Aphrodite into submission. But her eyes were filled with defiance.
The sight of her standing strong against the odds, unbowed and resolute, made it clear that that my love for her burned as fiercely as my wrath.